Anywhere
by DuckonMooseEh
Summary: Probably overrated. What happens when Raven realizes that a love is in danger by Slade? Two choices, defeat Slade or leave to go anywhere they can be safe...


5/22/05

Well, I've been debating with myself on how to write this story. I still haven't really decided, so I'm gonna just write and hope for the best. Hmm… chances are the characters (especially Raven) will be slightly out of character. So, to use a solecism, "Quit yer bitchin' and grow some balls". I'm sorry about that… fairly severe insomnia (7 days, 4 hours of sleep…), and I'm not all that right in the head… Oh yeah, and to all of you people who think that Raven and Robin are together now, because of Birthmark and Haunted and whatever, I have news from a reliable source that an upcoming episode is about to pop your happy little bubble. There is a Star/Rob episode coming up, as I understand it. So sorry, if you hate that couple, looks like the writers like it. And that means Raven doesn't have boyfriend, which means BB still has a chance. Don't you love how something comes along every time just when things look bleak for the underdog?

Okay, this story is kinda weird… and it is a Rae/Someone pairing. The song lyrics are mixed in with the dialogue. I've decided that that may be the best way to write this. So, read on, and tell me what you think of this at the end. Thanks.

Disclaimer: Owneth not the sacred text of the Teen Titans, or of the song that thou dost knoweth as Anywhere. Prithee, 'twould be most pleasing to me, shouldst I perchance come into possession of such honorable things… Wow, I went a bit schizo there. I don't own it. Wish I did, but I don't. TO THE STORY!

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"I know your weakness, Raven," Slade grunted, the light from the demonic symbol on his mask lighting the dim factory as he stood against her. The girl smirked at him, hands glowing black as her entire body tingled with energy waiting to be unleashed upon the world.

"Too bad you can't use it!" she shouted, blasting him with a pillar of energy. The other Titans, knocked out of the building sometime during the battle, walked, flew, and limped in.

Slade dodged an explosive, thrown at him by none other than his former apprentice, and shouted, "One day, you'll truly hold an attachment to someone, Raven! And that will be your downfall!"

There was a blast of flame, and the Titans flinched back. When they opened their eyes to look, a black shield around them protected all that was left of what had once been a Wayne Enterprises building.

"That was so cool, Rae!" Beast Boy shouted for what seemed like the trillionth time. They were all packed into Cyborg's baby, driving back to the tower for the night, and none of them seemed able to believe that Raven had actually been able to defeat- or at least fend off- then new Slade.

"It really wasn't that big a deal, Beast Boy," she sighed. _Why can't they just leave me alone? That's all I want- them to let me go!_

"So, what's it gonna be, Raven?" Cyborg grinned, looking at her in the rearview mirror, "Italian or Chinese for dinner?" The team looked at her, each elated at her seemingly impossible victory.

"Uh… neither," she whispered, blushing at all of the attention for the first time all evening, "Could you just drop me off at Penitent Tangent?" The entire team gave her a blank look.

"You know, that bookstore? The one where the owner feels guilty for his wife's death?" Still nothing. Now she was getting irritated. "The crazy old man who rambles a lot about chickens is the co-owner. That ring any bells?"

They each figured it out (except for Starfire, who was examining every possible meaning to the words 'penitent' and 'tangent'), and Cyborg nodded.

As the T-Car sped around the corner, Raven walked to the dreary bookstore. She didn't go into it though; rather, she walked through a dark alley to the building behind it. This building was a supply room for the store, and the clerk lived in the top floor.

Walking in without even knocking, the demoness ran up the stairs and sat on the edge of the bed, blushing slightly. Through the window, down the narrow alleyway, she could just see the sun sinking beneath the horizon, the Titan Tower also visible. After several minutes, she heard the door open again below here, and footsteps coming up the stairs.

"What're you doing here?" Raven turned and looked at the speaker, a tall, dark haired boy several months her junior (if age had any real significance to a half demon), and the clerk who's home she had just callously entered.

"You said you were going to have those books delivered to me, Brendt," she said, smirking at him, "I never got any books." He just shrugged, muttering something about UPS being slow as he got a soda out of the small cooler in the corner.

"Do you want anything, Raven?" he shouted over her shoulder. Then he gave a fake start and jokingly smacked himself saying, "Wait, what was I thinking? The girl that will destroy the world can't drink soda. Lets see if I have any herbal tea for the demoness, shall we?" He laughed, walking over to the small kitchen where he did, in fact, have some tea. As he began boiling water, Raven walked over and turned him around to face her.

"You realize that you're only alive cause I'm in a good mood today, right?" she said, eyes flashing black for a split second, "I would've ripped Beast Boy to shreds if he'd said that."

"Oh? And what would you have done to him if he did this?" Brendt whispered, blushing in spite of himself. He quickly leaned forward and kissed her, feeling her smile against his lips. When he pulled back, completely forgetting about the water, he looked her in the eyes and pulled her to him as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Dear my love, haven't you wanted to be with me?" he asked her, "I mean, we've been keeping this a secret for what? Almost a year now? I know you want to tell people about us, I can see it in your eyes. And dear my love, haven't you longed to be free?"

Despite the seriousness in his tone, Raven saw the smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. He knew it irritated her when he called her love. Or he thought he knew, at least.

"I want to," she said, smiling at him. Then Slade's words came back.

"I know your weakness, Raven. One day, you'll truly hold an attachment to someone, Raven! And that will be your downall!"

Raven shook her head, looking up at the boy she had, despite all odds, grown to love. He wasn't a superhero. In fact, he wasn't even particularly fit. He had a sense of humor that was a little more mature than Beast Boy's, he was more hard working even then Robin, and he had the invincible attitude of Cyborg. Combine that with the compassion that Starfire brought to the team, and Raven knew he was perfect.

"It's too dangerous, Brendt," she whispered again, shaking slightly as the battle flashed once more through her mind.

"Another battle, huh?" he asked, leaning back slightly against the old fashioned stove, "Slade? Trying to get you to make Earth a resort for Satan?" She smiled weakly at the lame attempt at a joke, and nodded.

"Saying he's gonna find out who you love and use them as leverage?" he asked. She nodded. For a moment Brendt was silent, brow furrowed slightly in thought. He set is hands back to push himself off the stove, setting them on the hot-plate on which the water had begun to boil.

"OUCH!" he shouted, jumping away. He shoved his hands in the cooler, steam rising for a second. Raven laughed at him, though she knew he was in pain.

"What's so funny?" he demanded, slighly irritable at his own stupidity.

"You've done that what, 3 times this month?" she giggled. Then she walked over, took his hands in her own, and muttered her words. His hands quickly went back to normal, "What would you ever do without me?"

"If I worked out, I could probably pass off rather effectively as a blacksmith…" he said, leaving his hands in hers. She looked at him, a slightly confused expression on her face. "You know, cause blacksmiths work with hot metal? They burn their hands, and get scars and stuff on em?"

"You're a dork," Raven said, pushing him slightly and rolling her eyes.

"It's a living. After all, I am a trombone player, what'd you expect?"

The pair sat in silence for a moment. Finally Raven spoke.

"I can't keep pretending that I don't even know you. I mean, we've been together for a long time, I wish we could tell people! At least the team. I have to pass you by on the streets and pretend like you don't exist, and at sweet night, you are my own. I want to be with you all the time, Brendt, not just when we think we're safe."

Brendt nodded, looking out the window to the tower, now bathed in light by the excessively bright floodlights. With a smile, he stood, extending his hand to Raven as he whispered, "Take my hand. We're leaving here tonight."

"What?" she asked. Despite the long amount of time she had spent with him, his randomness still managed to sneak past her logic once in a while.

"We can't be together here. So why don't we just leave? That'd even keep the city safe! If you weren't here, why would Slade keep looking for you here? The Titans can handle the other baddies without you."

"Ju-just up and leave?" Raven gasped, shaking slightly at the prospect. She was at once chilled and energized, wanting to leave immediately, but also wanting to stay in Jump City with her friends.

"Yeah. There's no need to tell anyone, Rae. They'd only hold us down."

"But… they're my friends. I can't just leave them."

"Raven, how do you think they'd take our relationship? I'd say Starfire would accept it, but I think the boys might have a little bit of a problem with it. Don't you think?" She just nodded. "Think about it, Rae. We could leave right now, so by the morning light we'll be half way to anywhere."

"Anywhere?"

"Yeah, Raven, anywhere. I don't know where, and I don't particularly care." Brendt thought for a moment, then said, "Hey, that rhymed, didn't it?" She didn't notice though. The Goth was looking silently out at the tower, though he had a feeling she wasn't seeing it.

"Anywhere… I don't care, anywhere is fine, so long as it's a place where love is more than just your name. I have dreamt of a place for you and I. No one knows who we are there."

"That's the main difference between us, Raven," he said, holding her again. She looked up at him; her eyes open wide as possibilities flooded through them. "I've dreamt of only being with you. I honestly hoped we could stay here but…" he shrugged.

"I wish we could do that, too," she whispered, "but it's too dangerous."

"I don't care, Raven," Brendt said somewhat sheepishly, a grin crossing his face, "All I want is to give my life only to you. There's not much I can do for you, especially not that Beast Boy or Robin or any of the other supers can do. But I can love you more than any of them. I've dreamt so long of being with you, and maybe even getting to meet all of them at the tower, that I cannot dream anymore."

"You have met them, though. You've delivered stuff there. You ate dinner there just last week after one of those deliveries."

"Did I deliver something?" he asked, "I just remember you wanted me to go in your room so you could, ah… 'Show me a rare book'." Raven blushed, and Brendt laughed, "Stupid Beast Boy came in, though, before we did anything though. Did you get Lust back under control?" This made her blush even more. Now Brendt was giggling like a hyper 6-year-old who just heard someone burp at a fancy dinner.

When the calmed down, Raven grabbed his hands. Before he could react, almost before he felt her touch, Brendt found himself with her several hundred feet above the ground.

"What the-?" he shouted in surprise as they sped off over the ocean, leaving the city behind.

"Let's run away!" Raven yelled back, "I'll take you there!"

"I certainly hope so, if you've got me up this high!" he yelled back, but she didn't seem to hear. She was yelling in exhilaration to the night sky. The sky was slowly brightening as they sped along; catching up with the day that would begin their new life.

"We're leaving here tonight!" she yelled, "There's no need to tell anyone. They'd only hold us down." As the light continued to brighten around them, Raven finally went silent.

"So wait, the plan if that, by the morning light, we'll be half way to anywhere?"

"Yeah," Raven shouted back to him over the rush of the wind flying past their heads.

"Well, at this rate, we're gonna be in the middle of the Pacific Ocean!" he shouted, half jokingly.

"You're right!" With a smirk, Raven flipped herself around, jetting back the way they had come, a jetstream of black energy crackling along behind them. Brendt resisted the urge to scream.

"You're alright, Brendt," Raven said. And then she let go. Brendt squeezed his eyes closed, awaiting the sickening feeling of free fall. But it didn't come. Opening his eyes and looking back, he saw that there was a black wall that they were standing on. The speed of their movement kept them pressed against it.

"That's why you're the smart one, Raven!" He yelled, shaking giddily, "I never would've thought of that?"

"Did you honestly think I would let you fall?" Raven shouted, looking hurt. He took a deep breath and managed to take the few steps separating the two of them. He wrapped his arm around her shoulder, and whispered (although quite a bit louder than a normal whisper, of necessity) "No… I just don't like heights!" She sighed happily, and he managed a grin.

"So, do we have any plan?"

"I was thinking," he yelled back, looking ahead as the city appeared over the horizon, "that we just go somewhere where I can love you, and you can love me. A place where no one needs a reason for anything, and we'll be safe."

When they neared the city, Raven made the 'wall' flip around to the other side of them and slightly below. She slowed it down, and, when they began to fall, set it parallel to the earth so that they could stand upon it. Raven looked out across the dark, lifeless city. Then she looked longingly at the tower.

"It'll all be okay, Raven," Brendt whispered comfortingly, "Forget this life. Come with me. Don't look back, you're safe now." She looked up at him, into his eyes, her own brimming with tears and a love, buried deep down for fear of letting her emotions out. "Unlock you heart, Raven. Drop your guard. No ones left to stop you!" He kissed her again, and then looked out at the city. His pulse was racing with excitement. They were going to leave, to live together somewhere where they could love without fear or threat or pain. Still, Raven looked slightly doubtful.

"Please, Raven. Trust me," he whispered, "Like I trust you."

He could hear her whispering to herself. Her eyes slid closed as she plunged deep into Nevermore, looking for guidance. One emotion rose up above all the others to speak to her.

"Forget this life," it said. All the others fell silent. Brendt's words rang a triumphant chord in her mind as she said her final farewell to the tower, and to her friends.

_Come with me. Don't look back you're safe now._

"I know you can do it, Raven," Brendt said, looking into her face. She saw him, eyes filled with love and respect. She knew what he wanted: to be with her forever. She knew what he was thinking: they could finally be free. And she saw into his soul. Eternal love, and a fear that something would happen to her. He was terrified that Slade, or one of the others, would get her, and he wouldn't even be able to get comfort from the other Titans.

"Please, Raven. Unlock your heart. Drop your guard." She smiled at him, and with a short shriek of child-like laughter she set them flying away again, heading east as he yelled, "No ones left to stop you now!"

It seemed like they were flying forever, and, in a way, they were. For Raven had long since mastered her ability to control time. She slowed it down, so that a single second seemed to be minutes long. The ability to control time… to control aging, as she was still not quite able to do, was her new favorite skill.

And so they flew, for mere hours, seeming to be flying together in each other's arms for years, happy with that, and wishing it could be longer. Finally the horizon began to brighten ahead of them. They had long-since lost track of their location, but the forest below them seemed to beckon invitingly in the crisp wind.

"We're leaving here tonight," Brendt said, just loud enough for Raven to hear, "There's no need to tell anyone. They'd only hold us down."

Raven smiled, pulling him closer, feeling his warmth spreading into her cold, demonic flesh, as she answered, "So by the morning light we'll be half way to anywhere, where love is more than just your name."

The two went to land, to start their new life together in peace.

Back on the roof of the Titans Tower, the remaining team was still celebrating. Though they grieved for the loss of their teammate, they knew that she was now happier than she could ever be back with them… at least with Slade and the other villains still out to get them. And so they celebrated, knowing that they would, someday, meet with her and her love again.

The irony of it all was that Beast Boy had known for almost seven months, and had told the others about her love just last week. That was why they had let her go so easily tonight.

They knew she was going to be with him in these trying times.

They knew that she was going to be happy.

And, alone in the rubble of a large building, standing atop an enormous W, a figure laughed. Now he knew who it was. Now he had his leverage.

The light gleamed eerily on the fabric covering his empty eyesocket, shining brightly off the orange mask covering the other side of his face as he stepped down, moving around the massive Y to go back to his master.

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Yeah, yeah, that was weird for me. It was actually… optimistic. Yeah, yeah, I know, I probably just messed with your minds by being optimistic. Yeah, yeah, I've been saying "yeah, yeah" a lot in this part. Guess why? At the end of the song, it goes silent, then you hear them come back and say "Yeah, yeah" about 20 times. HA! Man, I'm good! Or stupid, I'll leave it to you to decide.

I don't think I'll continue this, but I've obviously set it up so that I could if people wanted me to. So people don't ask me later, the W and Y at the end are from the Wayne Enterprise sign.

Hmm… Oh yes, I remember now. If you've never heard this song, it is one of the few truly optimistic songs that Evanescence has. It's a pretty good one. Exodus is another good one. Honestly, I like pretty much all of them. Let's leave it at that, shall we? But, one last comment, this is one of my favorites for some reason.

Well, please review. Flames, compliments, whatever. I'm not particularly picky. And if you think I should continue this, please tell me. Oh yeah, tell me what you think of having the lyrics be in the dialogue, too. Did it get too confusing? I think it makes sense, but, then again, a war between penguins and chickens makes sense to me… So, please review. Thanks, all.

Okay, final thing. Pilgrimage is approaching. It's still 2 years off, but I have to be prepared. If you live between Las Vegas, Nevada and Key West, Florida, we need "contacts", so that we can get food and possibly a place to sleep. After all, my friend and me will be just out of high school; it'll kinda be difficult for us to afford hotels and stuff, along with gas. So, if you don't mind, at least tell us places to get good deals. Oh, and if you wanna go with us, that'd probably be fine. Just be prepared to listen to lots of Jimmy Buffett, country, Evanescence, and classical (Beethoven, Mozart, etc.) music. And, since I know someone is gonna think this, we are NOT rapists or anything, we're just too cheap to pay for a hotel and food and are thus attempting to mooch off of all the people we know off of Xbox live, FFN, and other stuff. We have no money. We are sad.

So, since my rambling probably made you forget, review to any of this stuff. If you wanna talk about Pilgrimage, email me. FellRogueGhost. Yahoo. Structure in normal email address form. Because I'm lazy. REVIEW! Sorry if I freak you out with my sleep-deprived idiocy or rambling about PILGRIMAGE!


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